Director of Partner Development (New Business Sales)

Job Description

Director of Partner Development (New Business Sales) - Ideally in the Southeast Region of the US

Be a Difference Maker at 3 Enrollment Marketing

Do you have a passion for helping colleges and universities achieve their enrollment goals?

Have you built a career serving higher education leaders and helping institutions solve complex enrollment challenges? Are you someone who creates opportunities that don’t yet exist - through outbound outreach, thoughtful and timely relationship building, and a genuine drive to open doors? Do you thrive in a role where your pipeline is yours to build, and your success is the direct result of your effort and expertise?

If so, you may be a Difference Maker.

3 Enrollment Marketing (3E) is a market-leading higher education company dedicated to helping colleges and universities achieve meaningful enrollment outcomes through modern marketing, enrollment expertise, and innovative solutions. We are seeking a strategic, relationship-driven sales professional to join our team and partner with institutions across the country as they navigate today's evolving enrollment landscape.

This is an opportunity to combine strategic enrollment expertise, executive relationship building, solution development, and business development in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where your work makes a measurable impact.

More About the Role

As a Director of Partner Development (New Business Sales), you will be responsible for creating and advancing new business opportunities for 3E's full portfolio of enrollment marketing, consulting, technology, and student engagement solutions.

You will serve as both a business development leader and strategic advisor, working closely with enrollment and marketing leaders to understand institutional priorities, uncover challenges, and align solutions that support institutional success.

Success in this role requires a strong understanding of higher education enrollment management, consultative selling expertise, executive-level relationship building, solution development, and the drive to proactively create opportunities within the market.

We recognize that exceptional candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds, including enrollment leadership, admissions, marketing, advancement, consulting, or business development. What matters most is the ability to engage institutional leaders as a peer, understand enrollment challenges, and guide strategic conversations that lead to meaningful outcomes.

This role owns a defined annual revenue goal. A significant portion of your time will be spent creating opportunities that do not yet exist through outbound outreach, network activation, and timely relationship development with leaders who are not yet in the market. You will own your pipeline from the first conversation to signed contract, with full accountability for prospecting activity, stage progression, and forecast accuracy against an annual revenue target. The ideal candidate is ambitious, curious, resilient, and motivated by both client success and personal achievement.

At 3E, we believe the best sales professionals are trusted partners who combine strategic thinking, industry expertise, creativity, and disciplined execution to help institutions achieve meaningful results.

Responsibilities

·       Develop and execute proactive business development strategies to generate new opportunities and expand 3E's presence within the higher education market.

·       Lead the full sales cycle from prospecting and relationship development through proposal creation, contract execution, and transition to client success teams.

·       Partner with senior enrollment, marketing, advancement, and institutional leaders to identify challenges, uncover root causes, and develop strategic recommendations.

·       Establish trusted relationships with cabinet-level leaders, enrollment executives, marketers, and other key decision-makers across colleges and universities.

·       Leverage personal higher education expertise and professional networks to identify opportunities, build relationships, and establish credibility with institutional leaders.

·       Facilitate consultative discovery conversations that align institutional goals with measurable solutions and outcomes.

·       Develop customized solution recommendations and executive presentations that clearly articulate institutional challenges, strategic opportunities, proposed solutions, expected outcomes, and return on investment.

·       Translate discovery findings into compelling business cases, strategic recommendations, and create client-facing presentations that advance the sales process and support executive decision-making.

·       Collaborate with internal subject matter experts to create tailored recommendations that align client needs, institutional goals, pricing, scope, and delivery expectations.

·       Own proposal strategy and development from concept through contract execution.

·       Maintain disciplined pipeline management, stage integrity, and forecasting accuracy against quarterly and annual revenue goals.

·       Demonstrate expertise in enrollment management, student recruitment, higher education marketing, and emerging industry trends.

·       Analyze market trends, competitive activity, enrollment challenges, and institutional priorities to identify opportunities for growth.

·       Represent 3E at conferences, workshops, webinars, and industry events as a thought leader and brand ambassador.

·       Utilize CRM and sales tools to manage opportunities, document client engagement, and support data-driven decision making.

·       Collaborate closely with marketing, partner success, product, and executive leadership teams to deliver an exceptional client experience.

What Great Looks Like at 3E

The ideal candidate:

·       Builds trust quickly and establishes credibility with senior higher education leaders.

·       Creates owned pipeline, comfortable with outbound outreach, cold relationship building, and sustained follow-through with leaders who are not yet aware a solution exists.

·       Is energized by ambitious goals and takes ownership of results.

·       Combines strategic thinking with disciplined execution.

·       Asks thoughtful questions, challenges assumptions respectfully, and helps prospects see new possibilities.

·       Effectively translates discovery conversations into compelling solution recommendations, executive presentations, and business cases that help institutional leaders take action.

·       Connects institutional challenges, data, and strategy into a clear narrative that demonstrates value and inspires confidence.

·       Demonstrates resilience, adaptability, and a growth mindset.

·       Balances confidence with humility and is comfortable leading conversations with senior decision-makers.

·       Serves as a trusted partner who prioritizes long-term relationships over transactional sales.

·       Consistently seeks opportunities to learn, grow, and improve both personally and professionally.

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree required.

·       7+ years of experience in consultative sales, enrollment management, admissions, higher education leadership, enrollment marketing, student success, advancement, or a related higher education function.

·       Experience working directly within higher education enrollment management, admissions, marketing, advancement, student success, or related institutional leadership roles strongly preferred.

·       Candidates who have successfully transitioned from higher education leadership into business development, consulting, or strategic partnership roles are encouraged to apply.

·       Demonstrated success generating new business in markets where relationships must be built rather than inherited, with a track record of consistent pipeline creation and revenue goal attainment.

·       Experience selling complex services, consulting engagements, technology solutions, or marketing services preferred.

·       Comfort navigating multi-stakeholder decisions involving provosts, VPEMs, CFOs, and cabinet leadership, with the patience and discipline to manage long sales cycles from first conversation to close.

·       Demonstrated ability to engage, influence, and build credibility with executive-level stakeholders.

·       Strong understanding of enrollment management, student recruitment, admissions operations, enrollment marketing, or higher education strategy.

·       Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver executive-level sales presentations, strategic recommendations, and business cases.

·       Experience translating client challenges into customized solutions and compelling presentations that drive stakeholder alignment and decision-making.

·       Strong written, visual, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to build persuasive presentation materials for senior leadership audiences.

·       Strong business acumen and ability to connect institutional challenges to strategic solutions.

·       Exceptional listening, presentation, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.

·       Experience developing and delivering effective proposals, presentations, and business cases.

·       Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and communicate value.

·       Existing professional network within higher education enrollment, admissions, marketing, advancement, or institutional leadership communities preferred.

·       Proficiency with CRM platforms and Microsoft Office applications.

·       Self-motivated, highly organized, and comfortable operating in a dynamic, growth-oriented environment.

·       Open to feedback, committed to continuous learning, and passionate about helping institutions succeed.